Senior Social Worker

Summary The Cincinnati VA Medical Center is currently seeking a Senior Social Worker whose primary duties and responsibilities center on the care management of Veterans in the Community Living Center. The employee must use a high level of skill in assessing and treating the complicated psychosocial problems of Veterans as they transition from the Community Living Center to appropriate placement alternatives. Responsibilities The Cincinnati VA Medical Center (CVAMC) is a two-division campus located in Cincinnati, OH and Fort Thomas, KY serving 15 counties in Southwest OH, Northern Kentucky, and Southeast Indiana with 6 Community Based Outpatient Clinics located in Bellevue, KY; Florence, KY; Lawrenceburg, IN; Hamilton, OH; Clermont County, OH, and Georgetown, OH. The CVAMC also supports two off main campus locations in the Cincinnati area via an Eye Center and Mental Health Outreach Community Division. The employee is performing at the full performance level and is licensed or certified to independently practice social work. He/she provides professional, independent social work services in the assigned areas and performs duties as listed below: Performs the responsibilities as the admissions coordinator for the CLC. Incumbent records and tracks all referral and admission data for quality performance and improvement measuring purposes. The employee is a member of an interdisciplinary team and is primarily responsible for assessment and completion of the psychosocial assessment as well as completion of the psychosocial portion of the interdisciplinary care plan and contribution to the Minimum Data Set (MDS). The incumbent is also responsible for active participation in interdisciplinary treatment team meetings, cultural transformation, and resident centered care planning. Independently conducts psychosocial assessments as appropriate for treatment planning. Assessment is to highlight the Veterans strengths, limitations, internal and external supports, and service needs in order to optimize functional status. Identifies the psychosocial complications that can be caused due to a sudden onset of an acute or chronic illness. Provides treatment intervention in collaboration with the Veteran and family, interdisciplinary treatment team, and community members. The incumbent possesses knowledge and ability to implement treatment modalities including motivational interviewing (Ml) to provide supportive counseling for individuals, families, and groups. Actively participates as a member of the interdisciplinary treatment team and actively participates through collaboration with Veterans, families, and interdisciplinary treatment team members in the development and implementation of a resident centered treatment plan. Provides consultation and education to Veterans and their families regarding community resources, VA benefits and services, specialty programs, entitlements, and education and completion of Advance Directives and Living Wills. This includes the incumbents knowledge of the process for accessing and/or coordinating community-based services, including information and referral for additional services from other VA programs, other government programs, and community programs. Facilitates discharge planning through collaboration with Veterans and their families as well as interdisciplinary treatment team members to ensure that appropriate discharge plans are executed in a timely manner. Independently provides crisis intervention services if needed, seeking to address cause, as well as the presenting complaint, coordinates family conferences, and serves as liaison to family members. Formulates a plan with goals, objectives, barriers, and needs for ongoing follow up and case management. Possesses a high level of skill and expertise to establish and maintain effective therapeutic relationships with Veterans in the Community Living Center and/or their families. He/she understands the range of treatment and skills for all adult patients related to illness or chronic medical conditions, psychological needs. Independently works with Veterans and their families who are experiencing a wide range of complicated medical, psychiatric, emotional, behavioral, and psychosocial problems. Possesses a working knowledge and experience in use of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures, including acute, chronic, and traumatic illnesses, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology. Possess knowledge and ability to independently implement treatment modalities, provide counseling and/or supportive groups for Veterans and families. Possesses ability to evaluate his/her practice through professional peer review, case conferences, and other organizational means. Meets the needs of customers while supporting VA missions and is able to provide the customer with consistent information according to established policies and procedures. Complies with VA performance measures and takes a role in completing measures necessary for Community Living Center performance. Attends and participates in regular Community Living Center meetings, Daily Huddles, and Department meetings. Work Schedule: Monday – Friday, 7:30 am to 4:00 pm Telework: Ad-hoc Functional Statement #: 92629-A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized. Financial Disclosure Report: Not required. Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Must be proficient in written and spoken English. You may be required to serve a probationary period. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Must pass pre-employment physical examination. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) – See “Additional Information” below for details. Qualifications Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). Education. Have a masters degree in social work from a school of social work fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). Graduates of schools of social work that are in candidacy status do not meet this requirement until the School of Social Work is fully accredited. A doctoral degree in social work may not be substituted for the masters degree in social work. Verification of the degree can be made by going to http://www.cswe.org/Accreditation to verify that the social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a masters of social work. Licensure. Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS-0185 series in VHA must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the masters degree level. Current state requirements may be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/. Failure to Obtain License or Certification. In all cases, social workers must actively pursue meeting state prerequisites for licensure or certification starting from the date of their appointment. Failure to become licensed or certified within the prescribed amount of time will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment. Loss of Licensure or Certification. Once licensed or certified, social workers must maintain a full, valid, and unrestricted independent license or certification to remain qualified for employment. Loss of licensure or certification will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment. In order for a social worker to be qualified for a positions at the grade 12 and above, the social worker must have passed the ASWB exam. “Advanced Practice Level. The Advanced Practice Level (APL) of social work requires completion of the advanced generalist or clinical Association of Social Work Board (ASWB) examination and determination by a state licensing board which determines advanced practice for licensure within their jurisdiction. In VHA, the Advanced Practice Level also requires use of advanced practice knowledge and skills in accordance with the VHA Social Worker Qualification Standards for GS-12 or above positions.” (VHA Directive 1110.02). May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria). Grade Determinations: Senior Social Worker, GS-12 (1) Experience/Education. The candidate must have at least two years of experience post advanced practice clinical licensure and should be in a specialized area of social work practice of which, one year must be equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Senior social workers have experience that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgment. Senior social workers are experts in their specialized area of practice. Senior social workers may have certification or other post-masters training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship or equivalent supervised professional experience in a specialty. (2) Licensure/Certification. Senior social workers must be licensed or certified by a state at the advanced practice level which included an advanced generalist or clinical examination, unless they are grandfathered by the state in which they are licensed to practice at the advanced practice level (except for licenses issued in California, which administers its own clinical examination for advanced practice) and they must be able to provide supervision for licensure. (3) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) Skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities used in specialty treatment programs or with special patient populations. This includes individual, group, and/or family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial and/or case management. (b) Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. (c) Knowledge in developing and implementing methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in the specialty area, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services and to design system changes. (d) Ability to provide specialized consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients in the service delivery area, as well as role modeling effective social work practice skills. (e) Ability to expand clinical knowledge in the social work profession, and to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the service delivery area. Reference: VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G39 Social Worker Qualification Standard. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office. For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/ Preferred Experience: Nursing home and/or discharge planning experience. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services. Education IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicants criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.